Taipei: Following a 4-for-1 stock split, Yuanta/P-shares Taiwan Top 50 ETF, known as “0050,” has become significantly more accessible for investors as trading resumed on Wednesday, according to dealers. The ETF, issued by Yuanta Securities Investment Trust Co. since June 2003, had its trading temporarily suspended from June 11-17 to facilitate the stock split.

According to Focus Taiwan, an ETF is a pooled investment security that trades like an individual stock and can track a range of securities from a single entity to a large collection. The 0050 ETF specifically tracks the Taiwan 50 Index, which includes the largest 50 companies by market capitalization in Taiwan, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). It is the first and largest ETF in Taiwan in terms of fund size.

Before the stock split, shares of the ETF closed at NT$188.65 on June 10. Post-split, the closing price was adjusted to NT$47.16, making it financially easier for investors to purchase shares. Now, investors can buy a lot of 1,000 shares for less than NT$15,000, compared to NT$188,650 prior to the split.

Originally listed in 2003 with an issuance price of NT$36.98, the ETF’s price aligned with the Taiex, Taiwan’s benchmark index, which had topped NT$200 earlier this year. Yuanta Securities Investment Trust initiated the stock split to lower the entry barrier for smaller investors.

Since the announcement of the stock split in mid-February, the number of investors in the ETF has grown rapidly, surpassing 1 million by the end of March and reaching 1.10 million at present. The ETF’s fund size was NT$451.9 billion when the stock split was announced and has since exceeded NT$500 billion by the end of April, currently standing at NT$660.2 billion, based on TWSE data.

On Wednesday, the ETF closed at NT$47.57, up 0.87 percent on the local main board, outperforming the Taiex, which rose 0.65 percent to close at 22,356.73.